Having fun with music can create some great experiences for children. Stories and music have gone together for centuries with phenomenal success. So, why not continue to be successful in teaching children listening skills in the same manner?
Listening stimulates the imagination, and imagination encourages creativity. Children get excited when they put a mental picture with music and create a story. When facial expression reflects inner emotion because the music stimulates their imagination to create a story, wonderful things happen inside and they want to do it again and again.
The stories and suggested listening activities that I have put together are meant to stimulate the imagination and cause creativity to expand, find new direction, or trigger a brand new idea or experience. The stories lend themselves as springboards which allow the children to come up with their own ideas from their imaginations. This will additionally reinforce their listening skills.
Children need to be guided on how to listen, because listening is the key to good communication. What better way to develop these skills than through music?
The following is a list of the songs that are included on the CD:
| Song | Approx Time |
| Village Dance - Liadov | :38 |
| Sword Dance - Donaldson | :51 |
| Underwater Waltz - V. Ussachevsky | 1:00 |
| Cloudburst (Excerpt) - Grofe | 4:15 |
| Cinderalla Goes to the Ball - Prokofiev | :53 |
| German Waltz - Paganini (Schumann) | 2:00 |
| Fanfare - D. Speer | 1:00 |
| Polka (Golden Age) - Shostakovich | 2:00 |
| Petite Ballerina - Shostakovich | 2:25 |
| Departure (Winter Holiday) - Prokofiev | 2:36 |
| Cuckoo in the Deep Woods - Saint-Saens | 2:09 |
| Little White Donkey - Ibert | 2:10 |
| March, Little Soldiers - Octavio Pinto | :52 |
| The Little Shepherd (Children's Corner Suite) - C. Debussy | 2:55 |
If you are interested in purchasing the book, the cost is $20.00 (Sound Track CD is included) plus $8.00 for shipping and handling. Please fill out the order blank and mail it with a check for your purchase. Note: The order blank is in PDF format. (You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open a PDF file. You probably have it installed on your computer, but if you do not, you can download it free by clicking here.) You can then save and/or print the form.
If you prefer you can download the order blank in GIF format